Twenty years after their partnership, Kingspan is leaving Ulster Rugby.
Kingspan has stated that it plans to gradually end its affiliation with Ulster Rugby by June 2025.
Even though the present deal for the Senior Men’s shirt sponsorship and the name rights to Kingspan Stadium is set to expire at the conclusion of the 2023–2024 season, Kingspan has decided to stick around for a 12-month transitional period in order to help Ulster Rugby find a replacement sponsor.
That is an indicator of the level of respect that has grown between the two people in a 20-year relationship. The building materials company with its headquarters in Cavan was already heavily involved in the Ravenhill Stadium development when it saw a potential to further up its sponsorship of the stadium.
A successor will have an easier time establishing their own credentials because the branding was accepted concurrently with the construction of a new, functional stadium, even though references to the previous brand will still be made for a while.
CEO of Ulster Rugby Jonny Petrie said, “We would like to express our gratitude to Kingspan for their sustained investment in the club over a number of years, which has allowed us to build a strong foundation for the club in the future.”
“In order to facilitate a smooth transition to a new sponsor, Kingspan has agreed to support us through June 2025. As a result, we are currently actively in talks with potential new partners for the end of the upcoming season.”
Keith Shorten, who joined Ulster in November of last year from the Titanic Center in Belfast, will now take up that role.
“Twenty years is an amazing span and seems like a fitting beginning,” stated Siobhan O’Dwyer, Global Head of Marketing at Kingspan. It has been an honor to work with Ulster Rugby, and we are happy to support them going forward until June 2025, during a transitional period. Between now and the conclusion of the 2024–2025 season, we hope to see many more fantastic games and wish the club tremendous success in the future.
Among Ulster’s many current partners are Kukri, Bank of Ireland, Go Power, EY, Heineken, and other companies that operate somewhat below Kingspan’s top tier Time to leave immediately.